Wikinews:Audio Wikinews/Transcripts/June 4, 2005

Audio Wikinews transcript – 2005 06 04 – 0230 UTC
As reported by Nicholas Gerda

June 4, 2005. This is Wikinews.

Lead Story
Bush Administration flip flops on legitimacy of Koran desecration allegations Following allegations that the Muslim holy book Koran was desecrated in front of inmates at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Bush administration has drastically changed its position on the credibility of these reports. At first they completely denied it, and then, on Friday, revealed that these allegations were indeed true.

On May 16, Newsweek magazine apologized to the victims of deadly riots that ensued due to a Newsweek article stating that U.S. officials defiled the Koran. White House spokesman Scott McClellan criticized Newsweek's initial response to the incident, saying it was "puzzling." Later that day, Newsweek retracted the story, which the White House said was a "good first step".

On May 20, the International Red Cross (IRC) revealed in a rare public announcement that it had documented and reported to the United States credible information concerning desecration of the Koran by Guantanamo Bay personnel. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, acknowledged that allegations were made on "rare occassions" but were uncorroborated. Simon Schorno, a Red Cross spokesman, disputed the Pentagon's denial saying, "All information we received were corroborated allegations." He added that, "We certainly corroborated mentions of the events by detainees themselves," and that "the ICRC considers such reports "very seriously, and very carefully, and [we] document everything."

Scott McClellan explained in a press conference that the White House is not trying to tell Newsweek what to print. McClellan said, "Look, this report caused serious damage to the image of the United States abroad. And Newsweek has said that they got it wrong. I think Newsweek recognizes the responsibility they have. We appreciate the step that they took by retracting the story. Now we would encourage them to move forward and do all that they can to help repair the damage that has been done by this report. And that's all I'm saying. But, no, you're absolutely right, it's not my position to get into telling people what they can and cannot report."

On May 25, Amnesty International called for the shutdown on Guantanamo Bay due to numerous human rights violations, saying "The 'war on terror' appeared more effective in eroding international human rights principles than in countering international 'terrorism'." Amnesty International's view was shared by both the International Red Cross (IRC) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The IRC has said it reported to the U.S. government detainee's reports of desecration of the Qur'an. In the foreword of the report, written by Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan, Guantanamo was compared to a Soviet-era gulag in that it is "entrenching the practice of arbitrary and indefinite detention in violation of international law".

White House spokesman Scott McClellan responded saying the report's allegations were "ridiculous and unsupported by the facts. The United States is leading the way when it comes to protecting human rights and promoting human dignity. We have liberated 50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have worked to advance freedom and democracy in the world so that people are governed under a rule of law and that there are... protections in place for minority rights, that women's rights are advanced so that women can fully participate in societies where now they cannot", as well as supporting the fight against AIDS in Africa. About the allegations of abuse at Guantanamo, which McClellan has previously called isolated incidents, he said, "We hold people accountable when there is abuse. We take steps to prevent it from happening again, and we do so in a very public way for the world to see that we lead by example, and that we do have values that we hold very dearly and believe in."

On May 31, U.S. President George W. Bush dismissed the human rights report as "absurd" for its harsh criticism of U.S. treatment of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying the allegations were made by prisoners "who hate America." "It's an absurd allegation. The United States is a country that promotes freedom around the world," Bush said of the Amnesty International report.

William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA, defended the report, saying, "What is 'absurd' is President Bush's attempt to deny the deliberate policies of his administration." and "What is 'absurd' and indeed outrageous is the Bush administration's failure to undertake a full independent investigation". Irene Khan also responded saying, "The administration's response has been that our report is absurd, that our allegations have no basis, and our answer is very simple: if that is so, open up these detention centres, allow us and others to visit them."

And, on Friday, the U.S. military released the results of their investigation and confirmed that in 5 separate incidents, American guards at the Guantánamo Bay prison "mishandled" the Islamic holy book. However, they stress that guards were usually "respectful" of the Koran. One incident involved splashing a Koran with urine by urinating near an air vent while others involved kicking, stepping on and writing in Korans.

Brigadier-General Jay Hood, the commander of the jail, looked into the allegations, published and then retracted by Newsweek, that American personnel flushed a Koran down a toilet. He said that the inquiry did not find any evidence supporting this particular allegation. "The inquiry found no credible evidence that a member of the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay ever flushed a Koran down a toilet. This matter is considered closed."

Headlines
Government of Zimbabwe violently forces thousands out of their homes 200,000 people living around Harare, Zimbabwe have been evicted from their homes, which have been targeted in a demolition programme by the government. Most have been forced to sleep out in the open while rental prices in the city have skyrocketed.

The operations have targeted at least six Harare suburbs: Hatcliff extension, Epworth, Dzivaresekwa, Glenorah, Glenview, Budriro and Mbare. The official government newspaper, The Herald, says that 22,735 people have been arrested in the drive against "illegal structures, businesses and criminal activities".

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) are pressing for the government for a six month waiting period to give residents time to make new housing arrangements. ZimRights director Munyaradzi Bidi told the IRIN news service: "About 200,000 people have been affected in the demolition drive — and many of them have papers to prove that they were legal occupants with lease agreements".

U.S. confirms Korans were kicked, stepped on and splashed with urine at Guantanamo On Friday, the U.S. military released the results of their investigation and confirmed that in 5 separate incidents, American guards at the Guantánamo Bay prison "mishandled" the Islamic holy book. However, they stress that guards were usually "respectful" of the Koran.

One incident involved splashing a Koran with urine by urinating near an air vent while others involved kicking, stepping on and writing in Korans.

Brigadier-General Jay Hood, the commander of the jail, said that these incidents are the exception to the rule. In a statement issued late Friday, he said: "The inquiry ... revealed a consistent, documented policy of respectful handling of the Koran dating back almost two-and-a-half years."

Gen. Hood looked into the allegations, published and then retracted by Newsweek, that American personnel flushed a Koran down a toilet. He said that the inquiry did not find any evidence supporting this particular allegation. "The inquiry found no credible evidence that a member of the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay ever flushed a Koran down a toilet. This matter is considered closed."

The incidents reported are: a guard kicking a prisoner's Koran; Korans wetted by water balloons thrown by guards; a "two-word obscenity" written, in English, inside the cover of a Koran. Military officials state that it is equally possible that a guard wrote this in the prisoner's Koran or that the prisoner wrote this in his own Koran; a guard who urinated too close to an air vent, spraying a Koran with urine; an interrogator who stepped on a Koran during an interrogation.

Fire in Alpine road tunnel between Italy and France Italian firefighters say a truck burst into flames inside the 13 km (8 mile) Frejus tunnel under the Alps. At least one body has been recovered from the tunnel between Italy and France. According to the Italian news agency ANSA, the truck which caught fire was carrying tires, and the fire has spread to three other vehicles: another truck, loaded with paint, a van of the French tunnel company and a car. Italian emergency services were being held back about a mile from the fire by the intense heat, but French services have managed to reach the blaze. Several vehicles are thought to be still in the tunnel. Police are trying to contact a group of people who escaped on foot in order to assess whether people may be trapped inside.

French officials have stated that all people who made it to safety alcoves (ventilated shelters directly linked to a fresh air shaft) on the French side of the tunnel have been safely rescued, but there has been no information about rescues from the Italian side of the fire, where intense heat has been hampering the emergency services.

The tunnel has a 0.54% uphill gradient in the France/Italy direction, which means that heat and smoke will generally escape on the Italian side, with cold fresh air sucked in on the French side, as the uphill tunnel acts like a chimney.

Val Fréjus is a city on the French side of the border, in the Rhône-Alpes département.

A fire in a similar tunnel under the Alps (the Mont Blanc Tunnel) reached temperatures of 1,000° Celsius and killed 39 people in 1999.

Wikipedia Current Events

 * A video from the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre showing the murder of Bosniak males is introduced at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, sparking public outrage in Serbia.
 * In a consultative referendum in the Netherlands, early results indicate that voters have rejected the proposed European Constitution, with 62% voting 'no'.
 * Dominique de Villepin is appointed Prime Minister of France by President Jacques Chirac in response to the French EU referendum defeat.
 * Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward confirms that former FBI official W. Mark Felt was the Watergate source known as Deep Throat, after Felt revealed his identity in a Vanity Fair article.

Today in History provided by Wikipedia
Today is the Tonga's 35th Independence Day.


 * 1615 - Forces under the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu took Osaka Castle in Japan.
 * 1792 - Captain George Vancouver claimed Puget Sound for Great Britain.
 * 1920 - The Kingdom of Hungary was split into five countries with the signing of the Treaty of Trianon in Paris.
 * 1942 - The Battle of Midway began with a massive Imperial Japanese strike on Midway Atoll.
 * 1989 - PRC military units cracked down on the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing.

Today's fact provided by Wikipedia
In the music video for the Crazy Frog song "Axel F", the frog's genitalia have been censored for broadcasting.

Thank you for joining us for today's segment. Join us again tomorrow for more headlines, news, facts, and anniversaries; and next Friday, we will have our very first Special Report.

I'm Nicholas Gerda.

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